Breakfast + school = A+

Manenberg High School pupils sat down for breakfast at school on World Hunger Day Thursday last week.

The school participates in the Kellogg’s “breakfast for better days” initiative, which addresses the fact that one in five children in South Africa go to school hungry.

Breakfast is served to 25 000 pupils each day across the country. The programme is currently in its second year.

In South Africa, more than 11 million people go hungry every day and it’s no myth that when temperatures drop in winter, we feel hungrier, say dietitians.

And according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS) seasonal forecast, we can expect a colder than usual winter this year.

Kelly Francis, a KwaZulu-Natal-based dietitian, says a colder winter is approaching which could have an impact on your energy.

“In winter, we require more energy to maintain good health. All self-regulatory systems in the body, such as temperature control, require energy. Exposure to cold weather with improper warm clothing will result in an increased use of food energy for body temperature regulation. This will increase food energy requirements in winter,” Francis says.

The challenges of hunger are greatest in the morning hours, and this is particularly relevant to children, who do the bulk of their learning before midday.

A study of children found a significant difference in fatigue levels two hours after breakfast, between breakfast eaters and breakfast skippers.

Those children that had not eaten since the night before reported a greater feeling of fatigue at the mid-morning mark of the day.

The study also found that eating a breakfast of good nutritional quality can influence blood glucose control and insulin levels significantly enough to prevent disease.

V

For more information on the Kellogg’s “breakfast for better days” initiative visit www.bfbd.co.za

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